Password protecting an external drive?

[Zero1]

Hi guys
Recently I've been using WD external drives, and they have a nice setup where the drive and it's contents remain hidden when connected until you go into it's second partition and run the unlock program that is stored there. It's a real simple deal, just run the program, enter the password and press unlock. The drive is then mounted to whatever letter you set before, and job done.

However, recently I bought an internal drive with the intention of using it as an external since I have a power source and a SATA to eSATA cable, and I'd like to replicate the same password protected setup that I have on my retail WD external drives - that is, partition is hidden/inaccessible until unlocked with a password.

I had been suggested to use Truecypt before, so I gave it a try. It's a nice program but it seems a bit clunky for what I want to use it for. For starters there seems to be around 4 or 5 ways to create a hidden disk, some of which cause my system to display it as 2 drives connected at once, or another where Windows thinks the drive is unformatted and bothers me to do so every time.

The unlock process isn't so bad, but could be more streamlined. I know this is a nitpicky comment, but it takes twice as many clicks to unlock the drive in Truectypt than it does with the WD program, what with having to browse for the volume and mount it (seems the "unlock" button on the WD program does all that for you). Then you also have to dismount the drive prior to disconnecting it (the WD didn't require this, so I was free to pull the cable when I was finished)


So, are there any decent programs that will allow me to hide a partition and unlock it (preferably with a portable unlock program) with minimal fuss? I don't even need encryption, so Truecrypt just ends up using CPU cycles for nothing.

Thanks.

 

[drescherjm]

So, are there any decent programs that will allow me to hide a partition and unlock it (preferably with a portable unlock program) with minimal fuss? I don't even need encryption, so Truecrypt just ends up using CPU cycles for nothing.

I am confused what you are trying to do. I mean a password on a hard drive without encryption would not protect you from someone who understands computers.

 

[SquidAngel]

Truecrypt showing two volumes is intended behavior as it is, for all intents and purposes, two volumes with one "hidden" inside the first. It's called plausible deniability and it's there for a reason.

Also in regard to "dismounting", you should ALWAYS unmount your devices before pulling them, especially portable devices. If you don't, any unflushed buffers will not be written to disk. This can result in anything from a minor data loss to the unlikely but still very possible scenario of complete filesystem corruption.